Floor expansion joint



March 28, 1961 w w THQM FLOOR EXPANSION JOINT Filed July 26, 1957 INVENTOR. WENZEL 14 THO M,

United States i atent O FLOQR EXEANSION lffliNT Wenzel W. Thorn, 1033 N. Terrace Drive, Wichita, Karts, assignor of one-half to Cecil D. Jones, Wichita, Kans- Filed July 26, 1957, Ser. No. 674,427

- 1 Claim. (Cl. 94-18) The present invention relates to an expansion joint for installation in a floor having sections.

An object of the present invention is to provide a floor expansion joint which lends itself to ready installation in a concrete floor section in which reinforcing bars are provided, the anchoring means for the joint being such as to be readily positioned along the joint so as to be free of interference with the reinforcing bars.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a floor expansion joint which lends itself to a neat and attractive appearance when installed in a forward section in a building.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a floor expansion joint which is sturdy in construction, one simple in structure, one economically feasible, and one highly eflective in action.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be fully apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the annexed drawing, in which:

Figure l is an isometric sectional view through a pair of adjoining floor sections, showing the expansion joint of the present invention installed therein;

Figure 2 is an exploded isometric view of the components of the portion of the joint used with one of the sections shown in Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a view partially in section of the anchoring means used with the floor expansion joint according to the present invention.

Referring in greater detail to the drawing in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, adjacent floor sections are shown in Figure 1 and are designated by the reference numerals 1i) and 12. The sections and 12 are spaced from each other with the space between them partially filled with an expansion joint filler material 14.

The expansion joint of the present invention is designated by the reference numeral 16 and is intended to be located between the adjacent floor sections 10 and 12. The expansion joint 16 comprises a pair of separated angle members 18 and 20. The angle member 18 has a substantially vertical wall or flange and an upper horizontally disposed wall or flange, 22 and 24, respectively, and the angle member 29 has a vertical wall or flange 26 and an upper horizontal wall or flange 28. The angle members 18 and 20 are positioned so that the vertical walls 22 and 26 are in parallel spaced relation and the horizontal walls 24 and 28 are directed away from each other. A tread plate 30 is positioned on the upper horizontally disposed walls 24 and 28 and is fixedly supported thereon by means of bolts 32 which extend through the plate 30 into the horizontal wall 28 of the angle member 20, the head of one such bolt 32 being shown in Figure 1.

Means is provided for anchoring each of the angle members 18 and 20 to the respective one of the adjacent floor sections 10 and 12. Specifically, this means comprises a slideway 34 extending below and along the junc- Patented Mar. 28, 1961 ture of the vertical walls 22 and 26 with the respective upper horizontally disposed walls 24 and 28. As shown most clearly in Figure 3, which shows the slideway 34 associated with the angle member 20, the slideway is formed by an elongated rib 38 projecting downwardly from the underface of the horizontal wall 28 and another rib 38 projecting perpendicularly from the adjacent face of the vertical wall 26. The ribs 36 and 38 taper toward their free ends and have their sloping inner walls diverging upwardly slightly from each other.

The securing element, specifically a nut 40, is slidable in each of the slideways 34 and frictionally engages the walls of the slideway 34. As shown in Figure 3, the nut 40 has complementally arranged sloping side faces cut at an angle so that they engage over their entire surfaces the adjacent faces of the ribs 36 and 38.

An anchoring element, specifically an L-shaped bolt 42, extends through and is adjustably engageable with each of the nuts 40 and has, when the nut 40 is in its position of adjustment within the slideway 34, one end bearing against the underface of the juncture of the vertical wall 22 or 26 with the associated horizontal wall 24 or 28. The bolt 42 is provided with an externally threaded portion adjacent one end in threaded engagement with an internally threaded bore 46 provided in the nut 40, the threaded portion of the bolt 42 being designated by the reference numeral 44. The portion adjacent the other end of the bolt 42, specifically the short leg.48, is adapted to be imbedded in the adjacent one of the floor sections 10 and 12 when the latter are in the process of construction. Suitable means, not shown, is provided for supporting the angle members 18 and 20 in their final positions within the floor sections 10 and 12.

The adjustability of the anchoring means in the expansion joint 16 of the present invention enables the user thereof to position the bolt 42 along the slideway 334 so as to be free of such obstructions within the floor sections 10 and 12 as reinforcing bars or the like. Previously, in expansion joints the anchoring means had to be removed or moved to avoid such obstructions. This called for utilization of the angle members by drilling of new openings for the insertion of such anchoring means and the removal of the present anchoring means. The sliding movement permitted of the nuts 49 within the slideways enables the bolts 42 to be positioned along the angle members 18 and 2b where desired. The shape of the nut 40 and its frictional engagement of the sides of the nut with the walls of the slideway wedgingly secures the bolts 42 when they are turned to a point where the end of the threaded portion abuts against and bears upon the underface of the juncture of the vertical wall 22 or 26 with the upper horizontally disposed wall 24 or 28 of the adjacent respective one of the angle members 18 or 26.

The adjustable anchoring means of the angle members 18 and 20 enables the user to readily and eiiiciently install the angle members 18 and 20 in a position for pouring of the concrete floor slabs or sections 10 and 12.

While only a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, other embodiments are contemplated and numerous changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

An expansion joint for location between adjacent structural sections comprising a pair of separated angle members each having first and second flanges provided with opposed, outer and inner faces, the first flanges of said angle members being disposed in spaced, substantially parallel relationship and said second flanges thereof being directed away from each other, a tread plate positioned on the outer faces of said first flanges, secured to at least one of said first flanges, engaging the other of said first flanges and bridging the space therebetween, and means for anchoring each of said angle members to respective structural sections, said means including an elongated rib integral with and extending outwardly from each of said inner faces of said first and second flanges of each angle member, said ribs extending substantially the full length of respective firs-t and second flanges of the angle members and disposed with the outer margins thereof on corresponding angle members in substantially uniformly spaced relationship throughout the lengths thereof, the inner opposed surfaces of said ribs on respective angle members converging as said outer margins thereof are approached and configured to present a slideway therebetween of uniform configuration throughout the length of corresponding angle members, a. securing element slidable in each of said slideways, each of said securing elements having a pair of angularly disposed faces complementally engaging corresponding inner surfaces of proximal ribs and each provided with a threaded bore therein in alignment with respective spaces between said margins of corresponding ribs, and an anchoring component for each of said securing elements, each of said anchoring components being provided with a threaded portion and an elongated anchor portion adapted to be embedded in a respective, structural section, said threaded portion of each of the components being removably threaded into the bore of a respective securing element with the inner extremity of each of the components engaging the corner between said first and second flanges of corresponding angle members with sufficient pressure to force a respective securing element into frictional engagement with said inner surfaces of corresponding proximal ribs and thereby precluding shifting movement of the securing elements relative to respective angle members until said inner extremities of corresponding components are shifted out of frictional engagement with respective corners of said first and second flanges of the angle members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,245,689 Davis Nov. 6, 1917 1,409,524 Chase Mar. 14, 1922 1,708,091 Healy Apr. 9, 1929 2,262,859 Robertson Nov. 18, 1941 2,286,019 Smith June 9, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS 338,516 France 1904 19,485 Norway May 22, 1909 688,163 Great Britain 1953 OTHER REFERENCES Engineering News, November 18, 1909, page 537. 

